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WASHINGTON’S top general said yesterday that Iraq would not be asking Russia for help fighting Islamic State (Isis).
US joint chiefs of staff chairman General Joseph Dunford flew into the northern city of Irbil with an entourage of embedded reporters.
En route he told them that US officials had spoken to Iraqi leaders and were told that no Russian air strikes had been requested, despite earlier reports that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had wanted Russia’s help against Isis.
In a further indication of who runs Iraq, Gen Dunford’s staff overruled Iraqi air traffic control when they tried to redirect his C-17 transport aircraft to Baghdad airport.
Officials later claimed the plane’s flight had been pre-approved by Iraqi leaders.
Meanwhile, Iraqi troops and paramilitary forces drove Isis fighters out of the key town of Beiji, having captured the oil refinery there last week.
Beiji lies on the Tigris river, one of the three routes into western Syria.
